Has College Football Officiating always been this bad?

Submitted by Timnotep on

I'm just curious because it seems like lately there have been a ton of botched calls. I was curious about this following the ND touchdown where he fumbled at the two yard line, don't get me wrong, I could care less since UM won, but it certainly did have the potential to completely change the game.

This coupled with the controvesial call in Mashall V WVU's game on Friday made me wonder if maybe there isn't a better system than having conference hired refs, especially after the horrible job of officiating which we saw in last years LSU - Alabama game. Maybe I'm just being a paranoid conspiracy theorist, but didn't the SEC have more to gain as a conference by having Bama win (and go to the National Championship).

It all just got me wondering if maybe there is a better way to do this than having Conference hired refs.

Sven_Da_M

September 12th, 2010 at 9:43 PM ^

... the officials got it right; Calvin needed to maintain possession as he fell.  Even Lions HC Jim Schwartz agreed:

"The rule is if you're going to the ground in the process of making the catch you need to finish with the football," he said. "He didn't finish with the football. He was [aware] he was trying to come down with it, he had one hand to keep it away from the other guy, he is trying to get his feet down and go to a knee it wasn't like he was trying to flip it to the official or anything. That's what it is."

It sucks, but it's the rules...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=300912003

A2MIKE

September 12th, 2010 at 9:53 PM ^

what if he uses the ball in that case to help him get up, and holds onto the ball, instead of dropping it.  Technically the ground aided him in completing the process, or whatever that guy on tv was talking about.  Would that be ruled a catch?  When does the process stop?

A2MIKE

September 12th, 2010 at 9:41 PM ^

I have noticed this in basketball for a long time now, since maybe 10 years ago.  Referees aren't getting any younger, but the sport they are officiating keeps getting better and faster.  A little bit of an inverse relationship there, and it's only getting worse.

Deep Under Cover

September 12th, 2010 at 9:43 PM ^

I know there were plenty of missed holding calls during the game saturday.  My dad said that MM is on the record saying he was held all day, and one time in particular the ref went up to the offender and warned him about it... You don't WARN someone, its not a speeding ticket, you throw the effing flag.  

And yes, that fumble was frustrating, but can you imagine if that call went our way and we won by a TD or less what the Irish would have to say?

Deep Under Cover

September 12th, 2010 at 10:23 PM ^

So true, actually.  I am in Columbus and found a band of Michigan fans to watch the game with.  There were about 2 real ND fans there and one was particularly intoxicated at the end of the game and he tried to tell me that if ND won what DRob did on that last drive would have been nothing.   Trying to bash a kid who put together a stellar drive to come from behind based on a hypothetical situation?  I about lost it.  I cannot stand those people

gujd

September 12th, 2010 at 9:45 PM ^

but I think everyone would agree that CJ caught the ball and maintained possession long enough for it to count as a catch and TD. The refs called it correctly as the rules stands, the rule just sucks, especially in cases like today.

umchicago

September 12th, 2010 at 10:01 PM ^

the rule states that a receiver must maintain possession AFTER hitting the ground (emphasis mine).  but how long after? he had two feet down, then his butt hit the ground, then both feet again, then he turned with ball in air in one hand, put his hand on the ground and his knee, and started to get up, at which time he placed the ball on the ground and lost it.

i'm quite sure that the intent of the rule is to call a pass incomplete when a receiver loses control when he hits the ground; time of impact

Hail-Storm

September 12th, 2010 at 9:48 PM ^

From what I've seen, bad referee calls have been a huge part of football lore. Michigan has been screwed over by ref's for a long time, from the phantom touchdown in the Rose Bowl, to the trip of Desmond in the endzone, to sparty bob.

It's part of the game. 

 

What really annoys me is when these kids drop the ball right at the endzone, making it questionable whether they get in or not.  I have no idea why they are so ready to drop that ball.  If I were a coach I would be forcing my players to run through the endzone.  Its just such a stupid thing to do after a great play.

TheOracle6

September 12th, 2010 at 9:49 PM ^

Officiating has always been a problem, especially when you play ND in South Bend.  Mike Martin was getting held all day and then after the game was quoted saying that the refs kept giving Notre Dames offensive line warnings.  A penalty is a penalty.  During Saturday's live blog Geaux Blue said that one of the officials was a big Notre Dame fan, it was really no surprise to me how much we were getting robbed.

Search4Meaning

September 12th, 2010 at 9:54 PM ^

It's OK when you win, but terrible when you lose.

With the advent of slow motion, more games being televised,  and multiple cameras (and angles) it is easier to see problem calls.   There may be a few more bad calls, but they are much more obvious when they occur, leading to the questions on more  bad calls.

Blue in sec country

September 12th, 2010 at 10:46 PM ^

I'm just glad we don't have to deal with the sec refs each week. Alabama and Florida each won a game last year due to poor officiating. For example and understand having a well coached o line but sat was the first holding call on bama in over a year. I've been to and watched a few and they hold as much as anyone but it doesn't get called. But the sec had more to gain by having bama and Florida ranked 1&2 going into the sec championship game, they just needed a little bit of help.

Tater

September 13th, 2010 at 6:40 AM ^

If anything, officiating is better now because of the replay rule.  It just seems worse now because we have access to so many more games on TV and so much more video.  Also, I can remember when national broadcasters would never criticize officials, as if there were some tacit code against it.  Now, "unbiased" announcers routinely critique officials as much as they do players.